How much to set aside for acar replacement/repair each year

[MMMdude]

Right now I am anticipating that i need to spend $1800 per year on car repairs and replacement.  I come up with this as assuming a purchase of a car every 10 years at a net cost of $15,000 - so $1500 per year + on average $300 per year for repairs including tires.  Is this realistic?

[Melody]

Depends what you drive and how many KMs you drive, but $300 seems low to me. (Also where you live, as labor costs could vary quite a bit). In Australia our state equivalents' of AAA publish detailed ownership cost guides for various new cars, maybe AAA does the same and you could use these as a guide.

[Cassie]

Our last 2 cars lasted 14 years. A volvo & a Saturn. Tires alone are $300.00. Some years we have had no repairs & other years spent up to $3,000.

[Rosy]

I'm still driving my 1998 Ford Escort Cpe, but repairs and maintenance went up in the last 6 years to where it is now an average of $500. Spent $1K last year and $125. this year. Before that it was barely $200 annually.
It still runs fine, no major problems and in two weeks time I will have enough to replace it with a 12K car, should the need arise.

[obstinate]

Once you've gotten started, it's not really necessary to set aside anything. Like MMM, we have a huge buffer and it would not matter much if my car exploded. I mean, it would be a setback, but we have plenty of money in the emergency fund to cover it. In fact, I'd view it as an opportunity to make an even more frugal choice on the next one.

If your emergency fund is not large enough to cover such an eventuality, then you should be growing it.

[vern]

http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-much-does-it-cost-to-own-car.html